US Road Trip - May 2023 - Summary

Summary 

Thank you if you've managed to read this far and I hope you found at least some of it helpful and interesting.

As a quick summary, we booked Hilton hotels (primarily Hampton Inn & Suites) throughout all the time on the actual road, apart from Yellowstone where we chose an independent hotel. We were more than happy with Hilton; choosing the same hotel means you know what you're getting. We had a budget of £150 per night (apart from Yellowstone) so that should give you some idea of what we were getting for our money.

Food has always been expensive in Vegas but it seems to have increased, even in the last twelve months. To put this into perspective, we had a Subway in Vegas and for two, foot-long subs it was $46. We had the same in Rexburg and it was $19.  That was just one example, it's easy to spend $50-$70 on breakfast/lunch in a restaurant and upwards of $100 for dinner. We went to Prime at Bellagio on our last night and there wasn't much change from $400.

We love Vegas and have been at least once a year, for the last fifteen years or so and therefore I am hesitant to say this, but I think we are done with Vegas...at least for a few years. The road trip throughout the different states and towns we visited has opened our eyes to how much more America has to offer us and I think that when we next take a trip, it won't include Vegas. I think we will definitely include a casino resort or two but somewhere different.

The cruise was a great way to relax but personally, Navigator of the Seas was too small for us so I will look at a larger ship if we were to cruise in the future.

We were both amazed at just how different each state was and how fast the scenery changed, from mountains to grassland, rocky outlooks and desert.  Utah was my favourite, just for the scenery but I loved each state we visited and it has only given me the appetite to want to see more.

Please feel free to message me if you have any questions or comments about any part of our trip and thank you for travelling along with us.  See you next time.

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US Road Trip - May 2023 - Day 20

Day 20

We set an alarm for 5 am and checked out of Wagon Wheel Hotel just after 5.30 am - all in the name of looking for bears! We had decided to drive through the park and head out of the South Entrance and yes; we saw a bear - albeit from over half a mile away! We saw the bear spotters from miles away and although we didn’t see a bear with the naked eye, a kindly man with a spotter scope let us look through his and we saw a grizzly and her two cubs! From the South Entrance of Yellowstone, we drove on into Grand Teton National Park and guess what? We saw another bear! There was no time to take pictures. She was on the move too quickly, but it was good to see her.

Our route to Riverton took us through some beautiful countryside and we saw a lot of deer along the way - and a lot of snow!  It amazes me all the time how you can drive for a hundred miles and not see a sign of a house or anything!

We were able to check into the hotel pretty early before we decided to spend the afternoon at Wind River Casino. It seems like that’s where Vegas sends all its old machines to spend their final days. There were a few new ones, but a lot of old favourites too. We had a fun afternoon and didn’t spend very much, which is always good in a casino.

That was it for Riverton really, not much else there, but we had a Subway and hit the sack about 9 pm.

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US Road Trip - May 2023 - Day 19

Day 19

Our last full day in the park and another long and busy day, but so worth it. I’ve loved travelling around Yellowstone and seeing all the scenery and wildlife. Today we went across to Canyon Village and down to West Thumb. Just down from Canyon Village are the Upper and Lower Falls. I have no idea how far down we walked to view the falls, but it was a very, very long way back up! It was spectacular though and retrospectively, I’m pleased we did it!

As we travelled back down towards Old Faithful, it was evident the snow hadn’t melted and there was easily 5 feet at the sides of the road! We watched Old Faithful erupt again and this time the wind wasn’t in the wrong direction, so we could actually see it. A few bison and their calves came to view it with us and definitely got themselves in on the act!

We wandered into West Yellowstone again for dinner and ate at Hank’s Chop Shop. There definitely isn’t a shortage of decent restaurants and bars in this town. We decided that we would get up early the next day and drive through the park and out of the South Entrance before continuing our journey towards Denver. 

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US Road Trip - May 2023 - Day 18

Day 18

Today we were in the park by 9.30 am and headed up to the first half of the top loop via Madison, Norris and Mammoth Hot Springs. It was a beautiful day as the snows continued to melt up on the mountains and the rivers flowed faster. Gibson Falls was outstanding. Check out some of my photos, although they don’t do it justice. We saw a lot more bison, including some really close-up calves which were so cute! We also thought we might be in luck to see a bear, as at one point there were a lot of cars and photographers pulled up along the side of the road. Not a bear this time, but we did see a moose - no great photos though, he was a bit too far away. 

We also saw elk and deer today and bison galore. Dunraven Pass is still closed right now, so we headed partway down Lamar Valley. However, there were roadworks and lots of delays, so we turned round and headed back at this point, arriving back at the hotel just after 4 pm.

After a quick shower and change, we went for a walk into town, wandered around some shops and went for dinner at Pete’s Rocky Mountain Pizza. We had a couple of beers, shared some garlic bread and had a small pizza each. Looked round some more trinkety shops and then walked back to the hotel for a chill out.

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US Road Trip - May 2023 - Day 17

Day 17

Up early (not the best night’s sleep - the mattresses definitely need replacing) and back on the road for the relatively quick journey to Yellowstone National Park and the part of the road trip I have been looking forward to the most. We were quickly within Targhee National Forest where there was still snow amongst the trees and deer peering out from amongst the branches.  Yellowstone is in both Montana and Wyoming and we drove from Idaho to Montana to Wyoming today.

We arrived at West Yellowstone around 10.30 am and headed straight for the West Entrance. It costs $35 entrance fee and you’re good to come and go as you please for 7 days, 24 hours per day. Our plan for the first day was to drive the first half of the bottom loop down to Old Faithful and then back up again. We went via Madison Junction, driving along the banks of Madison River and stopping at a number of places along the way, including the Lower Geyser Basin.

The snows have been melting over the last couple of weeks and all the rivers are a lot fuller than they have been. I love watching them rush over all the rocks as they flow to wherever they are going.

We saw a fair few bison along the drive and as we were walking around Old Faithful, a couple decided they were going to cross the bridge in front of us! They are such huge, amazing creatures and have been in Yellowstone National Park since prehistoric times.

We checked into Wagon Wheel Hotel, which is brand new and seems really comfortable. We headed into West Yellowstone for dinner. A purpose-built town, especially for the tourist trade, but made just like a Wild West town. We went to Bullwinkles, had a couple of beers, a hot dog and burger and just soaked up the atmosphere.

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